Meet Leonardo Sandoval: DEL Movement Sentence Choir 2022
Every year, the DEL Movement Sentence Choir (MSC) brings together a diverse group of dancers and dance educators to participate in a collaborative dance making process.
The purpose? To create a joyful dance experience that brings together dancers of every genre, age and ability, and eventually, present a culminating performance.
Original movement choirs were created by Rudolf Laban in the early 1900s, and were designed as democratic and community centered celebrations of dance. Inspired by this structure, DEL conceived of a 21st century version of the MSC in 2015.
Facilitators use theme and action words to develop the “choir” over the course of a three-hour workshop. By the end of the process, a group dance emerges that is performed for a live-streamed audience. Each year, a guest choreographer is invited to bring their vision to the group process together with a DEL educator. Past guests have included: Larry Keigwin, Urban Bush Women, David Dorfman, Monica Bill Barnes, and more.
This year, DEL MSC welcomes Leonardo Sandoval, co-director of Music from the Sole.
One of Dance Magazine’s “25 To Watch” for 2021 and the recipient of a 2022 Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Dance, Leonardo is an accomplished “true dancer-musician.” Alongside composer Gregory Richardson, Leonardo celebrates tap’s Afro-diasporic roots with his creations. Music from the Sole prides itself on connections to Afro-Brazilian dance and music, with lineage from forms including house, samba, jazz, Afro-Cuban and passinho (Brazilian funk).
Check out Music from the Sole at Guggenheim Works & Process performance from 2020, filmed in the Lincoln Center Plaza:
As part of its mission to bring tap dance, America’s original vernacular dance form, to new audiences, Music from the Sole appears at both music and dance venues. They have also facilitated performances and discussions in schools, hospitals, prisons, parks, and community centers across New York City and beyond.
Bringing tap dance to new audiences is a key component of Leonardo’s dance education work.
The Movement Sentence Choir 2022 experience with Leonardo and DEL educator, Taryn Vander Hoop, is not to be missed! Secure your spot today in this transformative, community-building movement experience.